INSTITUTE, W.Va. — West Virginia State fought West Virginia Wesleyan College for four sets but came up short, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 25-22), on Friday night at the Walker  Convocation Center. 

The Yellow Jackets dropped to 7-10 and 2-4 in the Mountain East Conference, while the Bobcats improved to 12-5 and 4-1 in the conference.

Senior outside/middle hitter Alyssa Hill led State with 12 kills, while middle blocker Nicole Gartner Custodio added nine kills and 11blocks. Junior Carmen Perez helped with nine kills with five blocks. Setter Kelsey Mckeehan led the offense with 22 assists and Libero Lilly Adkins secured the back row with a match-high 27 digs.

As a team, West Virginia State finished with 46 kills, 44 assists, 76 digs and 14 total blocks, hitting .118 for the match. West Virginia Wesleyan led with 52 kills, 50 assists and 71 digs, rounding off .131 overall.

Wesleyan took the lead early with a 25-19 win in the first set and a close 25-21 win in the second set. State fought back in the third, and swiftly won with a 25-18 victory to extend the match. The Bobcats came back in the fourth, ultimately winning the match, 25-22.

West Virginia State will play the University of Charleston at the Wehrle Innovation Center on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.